Gilbert Arenas Arrested For Truckload Of Illegal Fireworks; Police Call LAPD Bomb Squad

Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas is in trouble again with the law. The 31-year-old athlete was arrested on Thursday in Los Angeles after police discovered a massive payload of illegal fireworks in the trunk of his car.

Arenas, who currently plays for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol at around 2:30 a.m. for speeding, TMZ reports. When officers approached Arenas’ Ford pickup, they noticed that the truck’s bed was stocked with a large amount of illegal fireworks.

The former Washington Wizards star was arrested and charged with possession of illegal fireworks, TMZ reports. Arenas was also cited for allegedly speeding at 80 miles per hour and driving without a license.

Although local authorities have yet to disclose the exact amount of fireworks found in Arenas’ truck, the payload was apparently large enough to warrant an inspection from the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, TMZ reports. The special police unit was called in to handle the illegal fireworks. Meanwhile, a TMZ camera man claims to have “counted around 20 boxes” of fireworks being removed from Arenas’ truck.

In December 2009, Arenas came under scrutiny after admitting to storing unloaded weapons in his locker at the Verizon Center, the Wizards’ home arena. By January 2010, Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton were being investigated for allegedly brandishing unloaded weapons during a locker room dispute over a gambling debt. A few weeks later, the All-Star guard was charged with a felony count of illegal firearm possession. He plead guilty and received two years of probation and 30 days in a halfway house.